Lister



May 4, 1943. w. H. SILVER LISTER Filed Aug. 26, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR: WALTER H. SILVER Patented May 4, 1943 UlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE LISTER Walter H. Silver, Moline, 111., assignor to Deere & Company, Moline, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application August 26, 1939',- Serial No 292,116

(01. TIL- 59) 9' Claims.

The present invention relates to agricultural implements such as listers, plows, and the like, and has for its principal object the provision oi new and improved means for controlling the Working depth of the furrow forming tool thereof. More specifically, it is the object of this invention to provide means for controlling the working depth of a lister bottom or plow body by changing the angle of the tool with respect to its supporting beam.

Heretofore it has been customary to provide such furrow forming implements with gauge wheels which are connected with the tool carryin'g beam by vertically adjustable means such as crank axles or the like, and which run on the surface of the ground closely adjacent the tool. While such gauge wheels have been in use for a number of years and have performed more or less satisfactorily, it has been generally recognized that they have certain disadvantages, one of which derives from the fact that the depth of the furrow is considerably influenced by irregularities and obstacles on the surface of the ground. For example, if the gauge wheel runs over a rock or other obstacle, it tends to wrench the plow out of the ground, imposing excessive loads on the structure and sometimes causing damage to the implement. Likewise, if the surface of the ground is extremely soft the gauge wheel tends to dig in, causing the plow to run deeper than is desired. In View of the above, it is another object of the present invention to provide depth gauging means wherein the usual gauge wheel is replaced by a shoe'or other mem-- ber engaging the bottom of the furrow and which is, therefore, uninfluenced by the condition of the surface of the ground.

Another object is to provide depth gauging means capable of extremely fine adjustment, thereby greatly increasing the range of work which can be successfully accomplished with a single furrow-forming tool.

Other objects and advantageous features will be made apparent tothose skilled in the art after consideration of the following description .of the preferred embodiment of my invention, reference being had to the appended drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of .atractor'mounted' two-row lister planter embodying the principles of my invention, the near wheel of the tractor being removed to show certain details of con st'ruction more clearly; and

Figure 2 is a partially sectioned. top plan-view of the same.

- Referring now to the drawings, tlieiimplement is mounted on a tractor 6 of conventional construction, having a frame or body I supported at the front end on dirigible wheels (not shown) and at the rear end on a pair of driving wheels 8. The driving wheels are mounted on transverse axles 9, and these are journaled in rear axle housings I10 projecting laterally from either side of the differential housing H.

The lister comprises a pair of laterally spaced, fore and aft extend g beams 12 positioned beneath the tractor body 7 and pivotally connected for vertical swinging at their front ends by pivots l3 to angle brackets l4 bolted or otherwise fixed to a transverse draft member 15. Bracing or stabilizing members It are fixed at 20 to the beams 12 and extend, diagonally forward therefrom, being journeled at their front ends on a rod 21 supported an angle brackets 22atthe center of the draft member lfi-coaxial with the pivots l3. Thus, each of the beams l 2- is free-to swing vertically about the transverse axis |3-'-2I-, while being held in an upright positionagainst tilting laterally relative to the draft member l-5 by the stabilizing member I 6 The draft member 15 is supported from thetractor by means of straps 2'3 whichare connected by pivot bolts '24 to the tractor body and depend therefrom, the lower ends of thestraps being bent outwardly and bolted to the top of the draft member. The draft member i5 is further connected withthe tractor by forwardly extending pull bars 21 which may be connected at their front ends either directly or through a spring cushion hitch to the forward portion of the -trac tor body. When used with a spring hitch, the draft member t5 and supporting. straps 23 oscillate in; a fore and aft direction about the pivotbolts 24;, as is well understood in the art.-

Each of the beams l-2 has its rear end portionturned downwardly to form a shank- 25 which extends down into the body of a lister plow bottom 26' and is attached thereto at its lower endinamanner to be described presently. The lister bottom is preferably, although not necessarily, of the double 'moldboard type and is secured in any suitable: manner to a foot 3.0- comprising two parallel laterally spaced bars3landq32 disposedon either side of the shank and extending upwardly ata slight forward angle from :the lister bottom 26". -The footfill is pivotally connected to: the lower end of the shank 25 by a transverse pivot bolt 3.3 positioned at or nearthe center of load ofthe'lister bottom 26, the

forvertical rocking or tilting movement off the lister bottom relative to the draft beam I2. By

bolt 33' providing v 2 locating the bolt 33 near the load center of the lister bottom 26, it is possible to reduce or even eliminate entirely the tendency of the lister bottom to swing under the pivot 33 due to unbalanced pressure of the earth against the tool in resisting passage of the lister bottom. One important advantage of this is that it allows the operator to rock the lister bottom 26 about its transverse pivot-33 while the implement is in operation. A gauge shoe 34 having a horizontal runner portion 35 adapted to bear downwardly against the bottom of the furrow when the bottom is running level, is bolted at 36 to the back side of the foot 39 and is bodily movable with the lister bottom 26.

Angular adjustment of each of the lister bottoms 26 about its respective pivot bolt 33 is ac complished by means of linkage comprising a sleeve 46 disposed between the bars 3|, 32 and having trunnions 4| on opposite sides thereof journaled in suitable holes provided in the bars. A link in the form of an eye bolt 42 has its threaded shank 43 slidably received by the sleeve 40 and is secured thereto by nuts 44 and 45 threaded onto the shank 43 at opposite ends of the sleeve 49. The eye of the bolt 42 is journaled on a crank 46 providedat the outer end of a transverse rock shaft 50 which is journaled on a bracket member bolted to the beam l2. Fixed to the laterally inner end of each of the rock shafts 50 is an adjusting hand lever 52 extending upwardly to within convenient reach of the operator seated on the tractor seat 49. A latch 53 on the lever 52 engages a notched sector 54 on the bracket member 5| and locks the lever in adjusted position. Thus, with the lever 52 and crank 46 arranged in the relation shown in the drawings, a rearward position of the lever 52 will cause the front end of the lister bottom to incline upwardly relative to the beam |2, while a forward position of the lever will cause the bottom to incline downwardly. A finer adjustment than that obtainable with the lever 52 and latch mechanism 53, 54 may be had by backing off one of the nuts 44, 45 and drawing the other nut tight, causing the sleeve 40 to move axially along the shank 43, and thereby change the angularity of the foot 30 and attached lister bottom 26 relative to the beam l2.

Mounted on the tractor above eachof the lister bottoms 26 is a planting or seeding unit, indicated in its entirety by the reference numeral 55, comprising a seed can 56, suitable seed droppingmechanism (not shown) disposed at the bottom of the seed can and. actuated by a transverse shaft 69, and a flexible spout 6| for conveying the seed from the dropping mechanism to a seeding shoe 62 fixedly mounted on the lister bottom 26 to the rear of the gauge shoe 34.

The planting units 55 are supported on the tractor by means of a frame consisting of a pair of members 63 and 64 which are detachably secured to rearwardly facing mounting bosses 65 formed integral with the axle housings l0, and extend upwardly and rearwardly there from. Bracing members 66 provide added rigidity to the members 63, 64 and prevent them from flexing under the load of their respective planting units 55. The bracing members are connected at their upper ends with the horizontal portions of the frame members 63 and 64 and at their lower ends with the lower ends of the vertical sections of the frame members 63 and 64. See Figure 1. The rear ends of the members 63, 64 are connected by a transverse frame bar tached seeding shoes and disks, are lifted out of the ground to transport position by means of a transverse rock shaft 13 which is journaled in suitable bearings provided on the bracing members 66. Forwardly extending arms 14 are fixed to the dock shaft 13 at each end thereof, and lifting chains 15 are attached to the front ends of the arms and to clevis members 16 connected with the beams |2.

The rock shaft 13 is rocked by means of a hand lever which is fixed to the shaft near the right end thereof, and which has a latch 8| engageable with a notched sector 82 fixed to the frame member 63. In the construction illustrated, I provide two notches 83 and 84 in the sector; 83 being for the purpose of holding the lister bottoms 26 just clear of the ground, as when making a turn in the field at the end of a row, and 84 serving to hold the bottoms considerably higher for transport over highways or extremely rough ground. A counterbalancing spring 85 which is anchored at one end to the transverse bar 19 and fastened at the other end to a short lever arm 86 fixed to the rock shaft 13, exerts a force on the rock shaft tending to overcome a portion of the weight of the lister bottoms and thereby facilitating the operation of lifting the bottoms to transport position.

Power for driving the seeding mechanism drive shaft 60 may be taken from the tractor in any of the usual ways, and in this preferred embodiment I have elected to transmit power from one of the driving axles 9 which are splined to allow for shifting the wheels 8 therealong so as to increase or decrease the tread. To this end, a sprocket wheel 90 is mounted on the left axle 9 and drives a reel 9| journaled on a bearing support member 92 bolted to the frame member 64. The reel 9| is positioned on the frame member 64 so that when the latter is bolted to the mounting boss 65, the reel meshes in driving engagement with thesprocket 90, thereby providing a quickly detachable driving connection with the tractor engine. Power is transmitted through a slip clutch 93 of any suitable kind and drives a sprocket 94 which is also journaled on the bearing support member 92. A driving chain 89 is trained around the sprocket 94 and extends rearwardly therefrom to drive a second sprocket 95 fixed to a transverse shaft 96 which is journaled in suitable bearing means carried on the under side of the seeding mechanism 55. A sprocket gear 91 mounted on the laterally outer end of the shaft 96 transmits the drive to an idler gear 98, carried by a carrier ||i| that is swingably or pivotally supported on the shaft 96, and thence to a final gear 99 mounted on the left end of the drive shaft 60. Swinging movement of the carrier |0| in a clockwise direction (Figure 1) carries the gear 98 into mesh with the gear 99, and swinging movement in the other direction acts to separate the gears 98 and 99, as will be clear from Figure 1. For automatically swinging the carrier |0| in a counterclockwise direction (Figure 1) when raising the bottoms int'o'their transport position, I provide a foil [03 connected at its rear end'with the carrier lll'l in any Suitable way, the forward end of the rod -03 carrying a stop T04 and extending through an e'yebolt I05 carried by an arm 1'06 that is fixed to rock with the transverse rock shaft '13 (Figure 2).

The operation of my improved lister is as follows:

When it is desired to increase the working depth 'of either or the plow bottoms 25, the corresponding hand lever 52 is unlatched from its sector 54 and moved forwardly, then relatched with the sector. The immediate effect I of "this is to tilt the point of the plow bottom downwardly and to raise the gauge shoe 34 from the bottom of the furrow. The greater suction resulting from the downward tilt of the plow bottom, together with the loss of support from .the gauge shoe 34, causes the bottom to di deeper and the beam l2 to swing downwardly therewith about the axis I 3-21 until the plow bottom 26 again reaches a level position at the lower depth. In this level position the gauge shoe 34 again rests on the bottom of the furrow :and prevents the bottom from going deeper. Likewise, to decrease the working depth of the plow bottom, the lever 52 is moved rearwardly, raising the point of the plow and causing the gauge shoe to push down into the furrow bottom. The plow bottom and beam l2 swing up- Wardly about the axis l32l until the bottom again becomes level at the new working depth.

If it is found that one notch on the sector 56 gives too coarse an adjustment of the working depth, a finer adjustment can be secured by backing one of the nuts 44, 35 away from its respective end of the sleeve 43 and tightening the other nut. By this means'it is possible to secure any working depth desired, thereby greatly increasing the usefulness of the implement when used with tractors of limited power. By rocking the hand lever 88 in a clockwise direction (Figure 1) the tools may be lifted into their intermediate position, with the detent 8! engaging the notch 83, or into their fully raised transport position, with the detent 8i engaging the notch 84. In the latter position, the arm I06 acts against the stop I04 and shifts the rod H33 rearwardly, thus rocking the carrier lill in a counterclockwise direction (Figure 1) and thereby disengaging the drive by separating the gear 98 from the gear 99.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. An implement comprising, in combination, a wheel supported frame, a fore and aft extending beam pivotally connected at its front end with said frame for vertical swinging movement, a furrow forming tool disposed at the rear end of said beam, means pivotally connecting said beam to said tool near the load center thereof for rocking movement about a transverse axis, said tool having a forwardly directed point and relatively fiat ground engaging means spaced rearwardly therefrom adapted to bear against the bottom of the furrow when the tool is level, and control means operable to rock said tool about said transverse axis whereby said tool point is elevated or depressed with respect to said ground engaging means.

2. An implement comprising a fore and aft extending beam adapted for vertical swinging about its front end as a pivot, a ground working tool disposed near the rear end of said beam, pivot means connecting said tool with said beam near "the center of 'loadof the tool providing for rocking movement of the tool 'abouta transverse axis, and means for rocking said tool about said transverse axis to change the working depth of the tool.

3. A planter comprising a wheel supported body, a fare and aft extending beam pivotally connected therewith for vertical swinging about a forward transverse axis, a furrow forming -tool having suction and mounted on said beam for rocking movement about a transverse axis, means for rocking said'tooland locking the same in adjusted position, ground engaging means fixed to and 'ro'cka'ble with "said tool, said means normally bearing against the bottom or the "fur: row and fixed to said tool in a position rearwardly of the forward part thereof "so that when said beam swings about said forward transverse axis, said ground engaging means moves vertically through a greater distance than the forward part of said tool, thus ilimitingth e depth of penetration of said toolbycontact 'withthe bottom of the furrow openedthere'by, seed dropping mechanism rigidly mounted on said body, a seeding shoe fixed to said tool adjacent said ground engagingmeans, so as to ideposit seed at substantially a uniform depth relative to the portion of the furrow traversed byisaid ground engaging means, and "flexible conduit means between said seed dropping mechanism'and said seefcling shoe.

4. For use with a tractor having a body, rear axles journaled thereon, and driving wheels mounted on said axles, an implement comprising a furrow forming tool, draft means connecting said tool with the tractor for relative vertical swinging and disposing said tool at a point spaced rearwardly of said axles, a planting unit comprising a supporting member adapted to be detachably mounted on the tractor body and including a portion extending rearwardly, seed dropping mechanism carried by the rearwardly extending portion of said supporting member, means for conveying the seed from said seed dropping mechanism and depositing the same in the furrow formed by said tool, and means for operating said seed dropping mechanism comprising a driving sprocket fixedly mounted on the tractor axle, a driven sprocket journaled on said supporting member and adapted to mesh in driving engagement with said driving sprocket, and an operating connection between said driven sprocket and said seed dropping mechanism.

5: A tractor planter comprising a tool beam pivotally connected therewith for generally vertical swinging movement about a transverse axis, a furrow forming tool having suction and connected with the beam for rocking movement about a transverse axis, means for rocking said tool about an axis, ground engaging means fixed to and rockable with said tool, said ground engaging means normally bearing against the bottom of the furrow and fixed to said tool in a position rearwardly of the forward part and open ative to limit the depth of penetration of said tool by contact with the bottom of the furrow opened thereby, seeding means including a seeding shoe fixed to said tool adjacent said ground engaging means so as to deposit seed at substantially a uniform depth relative to the portion of the furrow traversed by said ground engaging means.

6. A tractor planter comprising a tool beam pivotally connected therewith for generally vertical swinging movement about a transverse axis of the tract'oifl'a furrow forming tool having suction and connected with the rear end of the beam for rocking movement about a transverse axis, means for rocking said tool including a hand lever pivoted onthe rear portion of the tool beam and extending upwardly back of the tractor, aground engaging means fixed to and rockable with said tool, said ground engaging means normally bearing against the bottom of the furrow and fixed to said tool in a position rearwardly of the forward part and operative to limit the depth of penetration of said tool by contact with the bottom of the furrow opened thereby seeding means including a seeding shoe fixed to said tool adjacent said ground engaging means so as to deposit seed at substantially a uniform depth relative to the portion of the furrow traversed by said ground engaging means.

'7. A tractor propelled implement comprising a tool beam pivotally connected therewith for generally vertical swinging movement about a transverse axis forward of the rear wheels of the tractor, the rear end of said beam extending back of the rear of the tractor, a furrow forming tool having suction and connected with the rear end of the beam for rocking movement about a transverse axis, and means including a hand lever pivoted on the rear portion of the tool beam and extending upwardly back of the tractor for rocking said tool about an axis.

8. A tractor planter comprising a tool beam pivotally connected therewith for generally vertical swinging movement about a transverse axis, a furrow forming tool having. suction and con- 'nected with the beam, ground engaging means fixed to and rockable with said tool and beam about said transverse axis, said ground engaging means normally bearing against the bottom of the i'urrow and fixed to said tool in a position rearwardly of the forward part and operative to limit the depth of penetration of said tool by contact with the bottom of the furrow opened thereby, seeding means including a seeding shoe fixed to said tool adjacent said ground engaging means so as to deposit seed at substantially a uniform depth relative to the portion of the furrow traversed by said ground engaging means.

9. An implement comprising a fore and aft extending beam adapted for vertical swinging about its front end as a pivot, a ground working tool disposed near the rear end of said beam, pivot means connecting said tool with said'beam near the center of load of the tool providing for rocking movement of the tool about a transverse axis, movable adjusting means providing a relatively coarse adjustment for changing the position of said tool relative to said beam, and means providing a relatively fine adjustment connecting said movable means with said tool.

WALTER H. SILVER. 

